Disasters and Public Health

Disasters and Public Health,  maj 2009 r. : From the San Diego wildfires to multi-drug-resistant strains of bacteria, communities are facing an ever-growing list of potential disasters. Some events, like pandemic flu or anthrax attacks, are public health emergencies first and foremost. Hurricane Katrina taught us, however, that lack of planning for the frail, elderly, and impoverished population turned a natural disaster into a healthcare nightmare and led to needless death and suffering. Emergency managers and public health professionals must integrate their prevention and response efforts to serve their communities most effectively. Disasters and Public Health is a crucial tool in planning for and responding to the health impact of any crisis situation. Bruce Clements served as the Public Health Preparedness Director of Missouri in 2006, when the state experienced a record number of disaster declarations. Recognizing that his staff needed to track down a variety of references to quickly understand what was needed for an e